Let's play Battleships in a forum game format and with math involved.
Obviously it means its no longer Battleships but something totally different. D'oh!
We won't go big for this test game, so it will be 1 on 1, both Players having 200 Resources to spend.
The game itself shouldn't take long to complete - at least I think so.
PRELUDE:
Welcome to Battleships!
In this game, people go fight each other with heavy ships reminiscent of early 20th century Armored Cruisers and Dreadnoughts and the like.
SHIP CREATION SHEET:
Each side of the naval engagement can spend certain amount Resources (specified by the GM) total, distributed amongst all Players.
Name: prefix-name of your ship (your username)
Ship Type: Armored Cruiser/Pre-Dreadnought/Dreadnought
Hull Points: determined by Base Hull Formula (in Compartments section)
Compartments: DC = Deck Compartment, UC = Under Compartment (when you add an Extra, write it up by the DC/UC you put it at)
DC1:
DC2:
DC3:
DC4:
DC5:
...
UC1:
UC2:
UC3:
UC4:
...
Resources Spent: optional to fill out, but will help GM with the math!
Example Ship Sheet:
Name: Houlandin III (Haspen)
Ship Type: Pre-Dreadnought (95 Resource)
Tonnage: Medium (149 < 190)
Hull Points: 1+(9x2) = 19
Compartments:
DC1: -
DC2: Main Battery (20 Resource)
DC3: Bridge Tower (FREE) + Armour Plating (15 Resource)
DC4: Main Battery (20 Resource)
DC5: Secondary Battery (10 Resource)
-
UC1: Structural Bulk (5 Resource)
UC2: Ammo Magazine (20) + Armour Plating (15 Resource) + Armour Plating (15 Resource)
UC3: Structural Bulk (5 Resource)
UC4: Engine Room (FREE)
UC5: Engine Room (32 Resource)
Resources Spent: 149
TURN ORDER:
Turn order depends on the Resources spent on the Ships; Ships that spent LESS Resources go FIRST.
Example:
Alice spent 145 Resources, Billy spent 95 Resources and Claude spent 112 Resources.
This means Billy moves first, Claude second, and Alice third.
In rare case when two (or more) Players post a ship with the same amount of Resources spent, the person that posted first moves first.
SHIP AND ITS COMPARTMENTS:
Each Ship has Compartments, divided into Deck and Under Compartments. There are also Compartment Extras which can be applied to individual Compartments.
Deck Compartments are: Batteries (Main and Secondary) and Bridge Towers.
Under Compartments are: Ammo Magazines, Engine Rooms and Structural Bulks.
Compartment Extras are: Rangefinders (for Bridge Towers only) and Ship Armors (for any Compartment).
Each Compartment (even the ones that are empty) has 3 'levels' of Damage: Intact, Damaged and Destroyed.
When Compartments are hit by Secondary Battery fire, they receive 1 Damage; moving from Intact to Damaged, or from Damaged to Destroyed status.
Main Battery fire is devastating, and brings the Compartment right into Destroyed status. Pray it doesn't happen!
TONNAGE:
Lighter ships and heavier ships behave differently in the water, and have different sailing (and maneuvering) speeds.
To represent this, Tonnage mechanic grants certain bonuses and penalties.
Light: Under 150 Resources. Grants -1 Hit penalty for enemies targeting this ship.
Medium: 151 to 280 Resources. Grants +2 to Hull Points of this ship.
Heavy: More than 280 Resources. Grants +4 to Hull Points of this ship but also +1 Hit bonus for enemies targeting this ship.
The largest amount of Resources that can be spent on a single ship is 450 Resources.
COMBAT:
A 1d6 dice is used for Combat purposes.
You score a Hit against enemy vessel if you roll 5 or greater; each Battery that fired in a Turn has its own Hit roll.
When you score a Hit, a random Compartment of the enemy Ship is chosen.
After that, Damage is applied to both the targeted Compartment (if it in use) and the ship's Hull Points.
RANGEFINDING:
On the sea, ships move around and fire at each other at quite some range. Rangefiding mechanic reflects that.
Basically, whenever you first fire (this is counted in Turns, not singular Battery attacks) at a Ship, your Batteries suffer -2 to Hit.
Second and the penalty is reduced to -1.
Third suffers no Rangefiding penalties.
Fourth (and subsequent) is when your Batteries are finally calibrated and gain +1 bonus to Hit.
Rangefinding RESETS when you switch targets; therefore its better to stick to one target for several turns rather than switch between them often.
COMMANDS:
As long as at least one Bridge Tower isn't Destroyed, the Player can issue Commands (one each per Turn).
These Commands are:
Evasive Maneuvers: Both the Player and all enemies targeting their Ship suffer -1 to Hit rolls until Evasive Maneuvers is cancelled. Overrides Quarter Speed.
Damage Control: Tries to fix a Damaged Compartment back into Intact status. Damage Control takes 3 Turns to complete, and cannot repair Destroyed Compartments. Amount of Damage Control increases with size of ship: Armoured Cruisers have only 1 Damage Control, while Battleships have 4.
Quarter Speed: Both the Player and all enemies targeting their Ship gain +1 to Hit rolls until Quarter Speed is cancelled. Overrides Evasive Maneuvers.
You can cancel Command(s) during any of your Turns.
SHIP DESTRUCTION, VICTORY&DEFEAT:
Ship can be destroyed in 2 ways:
1: Hull Points are reduced to or below 0, resulting in ship's explodey demise.
2: All Under Compartments are Destroyed; the ship floods with sea water and sinks.
The Player Team that has no Ships left afloat is defeated, and their rivals automatically win.
ARMORED CRUISER:
Cost: 72 Resources
Base Hull Formula: Total Used Compartments + 5
Maximum Compartments: 4 Deck, 4 Under.
PRE-DREADNOUGHT:
Cost: 95 Resources
Base Hull Formula: 1 + (Total Used Compartments x 2)
Maximum Compartments: 5 Deck, 5 Under.
DREADNOUGHT:
Cost: 150 Resources
Base Hull Formula: 10 + (Total Used Compartments x 2)
Maximum Compartments: 6 Deck, 6 Under.
BATTLESHIP:
Cost: 205 Resources
Base Hull Formula: 12 + (Total Used Compartments x 3)
Maximum Compartments: 7 Deck, 7 Under.
---
DECK COMPARTMENTS:
Bridge Tower: A vital part for command and fire control on the ship.
Cost: FREE (1st) 30 Resources (2nd and more).
*Intact: Player can issue Commands.
*Damaged: Player can issue Commands. -1 to Hit of all Batteries.
*Destroyed: Player CANNOT issue Commands. -2 to Hit of all batteries.
**Special: In case of multiple Bridge Towers, only the 'lowest' damage modifier is applied (so if you have 1 Intact and 1 Destroyed Bridge Tower, you can still issue Commands to your ship).
Main Battery: A large battery of heavy guns. Deals 2 Damage on successful Hit. Cannot be mounted on Armoured Cruisers. Max 3 per ship.
Cost: 20 Resources.
*Intact: Attacks every 2 Turns.
*Damaged: Attacks every 3 Turns.
*Destroyed: Cannot Attack.
Heavy Battery: A triple battery of heavy guns. Deals 4 Damage on successful Hit. Can be only mounted on Battleships. Max 2 per ship.
Cost: 25 Resources.
*Intact: Attacks every 2 Turns.
*Damaged: Attacks every 3 Turns.
*Destroyed: Cannot Attack.
Secondary Battery: A smaller battery with faster reload times. Deals 1 Damage on successful Hit.
Cost: 15 Resources
*Intact: Attacks every Turn.
*Damaged: Attacks every 2 Turns.
*Destroyed: Cannot Attack.
Tertiary Battery: The smallest cannon available, able to pin-point fast-moving targets. Deals 1 Damage on successful Hit, but cannot destroy Armour Plating.
Cost: 15 Resources
*Intact: Attacks every Turn. Not affected by enemy Evasive Maneuvers.
*Damaged: Attacks every Turn.
*Destroyed: Cannot Attack.
UNDER COMPARTMENTS:
Ammo Magazine: Feeds ammo to the ship's guns.
Cost: 20 Resources
*Intact: Up to 2 Batteries can fire per Turn.
*Damaged: Only 1 Battery can fire per Turn.
*Destroyed: No Batteries can fire, unless another Ammo Magazine is operational.
**Special: Whenever Magazine receives Damage, there's 1 in 4 chance that stored ammo will ignite and explode, dealing 2d6 damage to the Ship's Hull, and destroying the Ammo Magazine.
**Special2: After all Ammo Magazines are Destroyed, the Player can fire only 1 Battery per 2 Turns, no matter its type (Reloading is still accounted for).
Engine Room: Provides power to the ship's turbines. At least 1 is required.
Cost: FREE (1st), 32 Resources (2nd and more)
*Intact: -
*Damaged: +1 to Enemy Hit chances against this Ship.
*Destroyed: +1 to Enemy Hit chances against this Ship. Ship becomes locked in 'Quarter Speed' Command.
**Special: In case of multiple Engine Rooms, only the 'lowest' damage modifier is applied (so if you have 1 Intact and 2 Destroyed Engine Rooms, enemy still gets no Hit bonus against you).
Structural Bulk: Cheap, reinforced compartment that provides extra Hull Points to the ship.
Cost: 5 Resources
*Intact: -
*Damaged: -
*Destroyed: -
Torpedo Tubes: A system of two launching tubes as well as a magazine of 4 torpedoes. Each Torpedo deals 3 Damage, but can only hit Under Compartments (UCs). Can only be mounted on Armoured Cruisers and Pre-Dreadnoughts.
Cost: 25 Resources
*Intact: Allows launching of up to 2 Torpedoes every 2 Turns.
*Damaged: Allows launching of up to 2 Torpedoes every 3 Turns.
*Destroyed: Torpedoes cannot be launched.
**Special: Can only be placed in 1st Under Compartment (UC1). Torpedoes cannot be launched when the Ship is performing Evasive Maneuvers.
**Special2: Whenever Tubes receive Damage, there's 1 in 4 chance that stored ammo will ignite and explode, dealing 2d6 damage to the Ship's Hull, and destroying the Torpedo Tubes. This can occur only if the Tubes have at least 1 Torpedo still inside.
COMPARTMENT EXTRAS:
Rangefinders: Sophisticated mechanical clocks used to provide better fire control of the ship's batteries.
Cost: 30 Resource
*Base Compartment: Bridge Tower
**Effect: +1 to Hit Rolls of all Batteries (does not stack).
***Special: No bonus provided when Base Compartment is Destroyed. Each Bridge Tower can hold only 1 Rangefinder.
Analogue Calculator: Computation device that helps in determining enemy vessel's current speed and course based on previous rangefinding calculations.
Cost: 30 Resource
*Base Compartment: Bridge Tower
**Effect: Changing targets reduces Rangefinding bonus by 1 point instead of resetting it to -2, as long as the target was already shot at previously.
***Special: No bonus provided when Base Compartment is Destroyed. Each Bridge Tower can hold only 1 Analogue Computer.
Armour Plating: Thick armor used to protect vital parts of the ship from damage and destruction.
Cost: 15 Resource
*Base Compartment: Any
**Effect: When Base Compartment is hit, 1 Damage is nullified and Armour Plating is destroyed.
***Special: Each Base Compartment can have only 2 Armour Platings equipped at once.
Diesel Engine: High-power diesel engine, increasing potential cruising and maneuvering speed of the battleship.
Cost: 24 Resource
*Base Compartment: Engine Room
**Effect: -1 to Enemy Hit chances against this Ship (does not stack).
***Special: No bonus provided when Base Compartment is Destroyed. Each Engine Room can hold only 1 Diesel Engine.
Every member of a Team must agree to use the Fleet Bonus and the Prefix. Otherwise, entire Team uses no Team Bonus and can attach whatever (except those listed) Prefix they want to their ship.
Team Bonuses are exclusive; if Team A picks Liberty and Freedom (for example), Team B cannot pick that Bonus anymore.
Académie de Génie Nautique et des Sciences Océanographiques
Team prefix: MF
Rangefinders and Diesel Engines cost 33% less Resources.
+1 Damage Control team extra.
Cordite RDC Ultra
Team prefix: HMS
Ammo Magazines can support 3 Batteries each (Damaged support 2).
Increases chance of suffering Ammo Magazine Explosion to 1 in 3.
Main and Heavy Batteries cost 20% less Resources.
Eisenmänner und Eisenschiffe
Team prefix: SMS
+4 Hull Points extra.
Armour Plating costs 20% less Resources.
Dreadnoughts and Battleships cost 20% less Resources.
Liberty and Freedom
Team prefix: USS
-2 Resource discount on All Ships, Compartments and Extras.
David contro Gollia
Team prefix: RN
-2 Hull Points penalty.
Torpedo Tubes and Secondary Batteries cost 20% less Resources.
Armoured Cruisers cost 25% less Resources.